RHODOS

ΡΟΔΟΣ

Was, according to Diodorus (v. 55), a daughter of Poseidon and Halia, and sometimes called Rhode. The island of Rhodes was believed to have derived its name from her. According to others, she was a daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite, or of Poseidon and Aphrodite, or lastly of Oceanus (Pind. Olymp. vii. 24; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 923). She was a sea-nymph, of whom the following legend is related. When the gods distributed among themselves the various countries of the earth, the island of Rhodes was yet covered by the waves of the sea. Helios was absent at the time; and as no one drew a lot for him, he was not to have any share in the distribution of the earth. But at that moment the island of Rhodes rose out of the sea, and with the consent of Zeus he took possession of it, and by the nymph of the isle he then became the father of seven sons. (Pind. Ol. vii. 100, &c.; Ov. Met. iv. 204.)